Book Week: Where to Find Books to Help Kids with Life’s Challenges

For post #3 of Book Week, I wanted to share with you an amazing resource I recently discovered via Made by Joel. As a parent, I try to do everything I can to help my kids succeed and books are one of my key tools for doing so. I’ve found that even for my 2 year old a quality picture book can be immensely helpful in prepping him for new situations or helping him understand new emotions. Just this week, for example, we hauled ourselves (and baby sister) to the library and checked out a slew of books all about starting preschool (FYI – Maisy Goes to Preschool, I Love School, Spot Loves His Teacher and My Preschool).

That’s why I was so excited when I first heard about Little Parachutes, “a website which makes it simple to search for picture books that address situations and problems affecting young children”. So why is this site so useful? Because, as the creator explained at Made by Joel:

“Despite the fact that there is an abundance of picture books published which cover situations and issues affecting the very young, these are often really very tricky to find… [adult book] titles invariably describe the problem (eg, ‘Coping With Divorce’). This searching method simply doesn’t work with children’s picture books , which often have completely abstract, unrelated titles (such as ‘The Last Noo Noo’ by Gill Murphy, which is a story about a little monster giving up his dummy, but you wouldn’t guess this from the title!)”

Little Parachutes has done an impressive job of cataloging a large selection of children’s books by several helpful categories. Topics include sibling rivalry, working parents, parent with depression, shyness, learning to swim, and losing a tooth (to name just a few). And here’s the best part, when it comes to caring about kids the site puts its money where its mouth is – all proceeds from book sale referrals are being passed on to Winston’sWish, a UK children’s bereavement charity.

I am definitely bookmarking this site and I recommend you do the same! And while you’re at it, check out their accompanying e-magazine, another stellar resource for parents. Finally, don’t forget to stop by again later today for yet another book week post – which involves a giveaway worth over $140!